It is important to understand that in order to provide access to education to the people with lack of facilities, some extra efforts need to be put in, says Sunit Gajbhiye
Accessibility of education has been one of the major problems prevalent in our country, which despite several efforts, is still a far-flung reality. The lockdown imposed due to Covid outbreak across the globe added more woes to the education sector. However, with the Government putting emphasis on online education and stakeholders of the ecosystem adopting it quickly, the accessibility of the education to the masses somehow improved and the ball kept rolling.
Accessibility should be seen as equal opportunities, from education to employment, for all in every aspect of life. Providing accessibility to all helps in facilitating empowerment which is directly connected to inclusive and accessible education for all. Though a lot of people who don’t have the facility of mobility are forced to choose between the right to education and an inclusive educational environment.
Not only this, but access to education should be beyond transportational and infrastructural provisions. It is important to understand that in order to provide access to education to the people with lack of facilities, some extra efforts need to be put in and ensure their reach to intendent people.
Though a lot of initiatives have been taken by the Government and the educational institutes have been smart enough to adapt to the new normal, there still remains a gap which needs to be filled. This would require involvement of many more sectors and a greater participation from the corporates as well as private firms.
The new National Education Policy shows a lot of promise in terms of educational reforms but its actual implementation will take serious efforts. The policy provisions comprehensive use of resources so as to make quality education accessible to all. More importantly, the hybrid or the blended mode of education where classroom and online education needs to remain the focus.
Going forward, blended mode of education seems to be the future and, in such a scenario, the measures to strengthen the basic infrastructure are pivotal. This, however, would require private players to jump into the fray and provide their expertise to fulfil the goal of education to all. As of now, internet connectivity is a major issue in a lot of schools/colleges and due to this online classes are a distant dream. Also, the online examinations are full of technical glitches and timely results are considered out of question. This calls for an urgent need of a fruitful partnership between private players and the Government agencies.
The writer is Chief Business Officer, CBO